


Always There For Me

by sophisticatedloserchick



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, High School
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-24
Updated: 2017-08-24
Packaged: 2018-12-19 12:38:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11897901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophisticatedloserchick/pseuds/sophisticatedloserchick
Summary: After a bad date Iris spends the night with Barry watching Dragon Ball Z. High school!AU





	Always There For Me

Barry was surprised to see Iris walk through the front door.

She had left half an hour ago for her date. There were still hours to go before her curfew. Iris had even asked him to cover for her if she ended up being late. Barry hadn’t wanted to do it, he particularly didn’t like Iris’s recent boyfriend Hank Foster the star of the football team, but he could never say no to a request from his best friend.

Which is why her sudden appearance surprised him. Iris had seemed excited about this date. She wouldn’t stop talking about it for days. Picking out an outfit for tonight took over three hours. Making it even more confusing and left Barry wondering why she’d cut the date short.

“Hey,” Barry paused his show to turn around on the couch to look at her. “Whats going on?”

“Not now Barry,” Iris said in a clipped voice as she breezed past him.

He watched her practically sprint up the stairs to her room. Not even once looking in his direction. Something unpleasant settled in his stomach at the brief glimpse of tears he saw on her face.

Barry sat there frozen not knowing what to do. He knew Iris better than anyone else in the whole world. He knew when she was upset. The problem was he didn’t know what to do. Should he go upstairs to ask whats wrong? Should he give her space? Should he track down Hank Foster to demand what he had done to make his best friend cry?

Barry half laughed at the last thought. At sixteen Barry was nothing but a bean pole with gangly arms and legs. He was probably the least physically imposing person at school especially to someone like Hank who was blessed by puberty instead of cursed by it. Highly unlikely the most popular boy at school would care what a nerd like him had to say.

Still, Barry thought to himself, if he hurt Iris he can’t get away with that.

In the end he decided to wait. He turned the TV back on even if his attention was only half on it. His ears listening for any sound that could indicate Iris needing him. He heard doors slamming, and the shower running, but not once did she call for him. That didn’t mean she was okay. Iris was a lot like Joe in that she kept most of her problems to herself. She especially didn’t want other people to see her cry. But Barry knew that she sometimes did when she thought no one was around.

Barry was about to go check on her when he heard the sound of the stairs creaking under Iris’s feet.

Barry glanced over his shoulder to see Iris freshly showered dressed in her favorite cotton pajamas and fuzzy purple robe. Her hair, that she had spent so much time on curling for her date, was gathered up in a messy bun. The makeup on her face scrubbed away. Still to Barry she was the most beautiful girl he’d ever laid eyes on.

“What are you watching?” Iris said when she plopped down on the couch beside him.

“Dragon Ball Z,” Barry said.

“Ugh,” Iris rolled her eyes fondly. “This show makes no sense.”

“Keep talking like that and I won’t share my popcorn with you,” Barry teased back.

“Oh please,” Iris leaned over to grab a handful from the bowl. “Like you’d ever keep me from popcorn.”

Barry smiled happy to see her back to her normal self. The two of them eased into a comfortable silence. Only interrupted occasionally by Iris asking questions on ‘why did that guys hair turn blonde?’ and 'How do they shoot energy blasts from their hands?’ and 'why is that green guy called piccolo?. Iris never understood this show. Most of the anime he watched didn’t make sense to her. Yet she never made fun of him for it or any of his other geeky endeavors.

“Is everything okay?” Barry asked when the episode ended.

“Yeah,” Iris picked at the couch pillow absently.

“Bad date?” Barry tried again.

“Don’t really want to talk about it,” Iris brought her legs up to her chest as she sunk further into the cushions.

“Is there anything I can do?” Barry asked helplessly.

Iris’s big brown eyes lifted up to stare into his own. Barry felt his heart race, and heat curl in his stomach. Lately he was finding it harder and harder to be with Iris in moments like these. The two of them alone. Both of them curled in close together on the couch. All Barry wanted to do was spill out his love for her. To finally open the lid to the feelings he’d been keeping to himself for years.

“There is one thing…” Iris bit down on her lower lip that made Barry swallow thickly.

“Whats that?” Barry asked his voice a pitch too high.

“Can we watch Sailor Moon?” Iris asked hopefully. “Its the only one of your shows I actually get.”

Barry blinked rapidly like he’d just come out of a stupor.

“You bet,” Barry fumbled out. “I’ll get us more popcorn first then I’ll-”

Barry stopped mid sentence when Iris reached out to grab his hand. Her fingers interlacing with his. Her warm palm pressing against his. Electric shocks coursed through him that he hoped didn’t show on his face. The last thing he needed was for his best friend to suspect his crush on her.

“Thanks Bar,” Iris smiled softly at him, “You are always there for me when I need you.”

“You’d do the same for me,” Barry said simply.

“Of course I would,” Iris squeezed his hand gently. “Anytime.”

The two of them spent the rest of the night cuddled together on the couch. Eating popcorn and watching anime. Barry never found out what happened on Iris’s date but he was glad he got her to smile again. Here together, on this couch, the two of them were safe from the outside world at least for a little while.


End file.
